The Riverside County Board of Supervisors took sides this week in the ongoing battle between two billionaires and their competing plans to build an NFL Stadium in the Los Angeles area.

In a unanimous vote, the supervisors passed a resolution that praised real estate magnate Ed Roski Jr.’s plan to build a stadium in Industry, while offering scathing criticisms of a competing project in downtown Los Angeles.

The resolution adopted many of the same talking points and buzz phrases Roski’s camp has offered over the past year.

Roski’s project is “shovel ready” – promising an immediate economic boost to the region by creating some 18,000 jobs, according to the Riverside resolution.

Conversely, the downtown stadium plan – which is backed by billionaire Philip Anschutz and Tim Leiweke of the Anschutz Entertainment Group – would take years of environmental planning before construction could start, according to the resolution.

A downtown stadium “would create environment hazards that would not be able to be mitigated,” according to the resolution.

Key among some of the supposed environmental hazards are fears the downtown stadium would exacerbate already congested downtown streets.

Roski’s “Grand Crossing” stadium in Industry has a “central location” accessible to fans across the region, and particularly those who live in Riverside, according to the resolution.

“The Los Angeles football stadium at Grand Crossing (in Industry) is at the crossroads of two major freeways and will not suffer from downtown Los Angeles gridlock …,” according to the resolution.

AEG President and CEO Leiweke has said there is no traffic in downtown L.A. on a Sunday afternoon. Los Angeles city officials have disagreed with that assessment and say someone other than city would have to pay for roadway improvements if a stadium is built.

What effect, if any, the Riverside endorsement of officials in a neighboring county will have on a stadium in Los Angeles County is unclear.

Ultimately, both projects hinge on which billionaire is able to lure a team to the area first.

But neither Roski nor Anschutz is likely to reach an agreement with a team until the NFL team owners and players settle their differences and reach a new collective bargaining agreement.

Team owners locked out players earlier this year in a move that is being debated in the federal courts system following lawsuits from current and former players.

With no end to the dispute in sight, the 2011 season could be in jeopardy.